A Slight Change of Plans
by Queen Orange
Summary: In a what-if world where Scar had been supported by merely the hyenas, so, Zira, left unable to do anything after his death, wary of loosing her own life and knowing that the hyenas had turned their backs on her, had been forced to watch as Simba took over. But who says that you can't be dreamer even when things aren't exactly going your way? [Currently under revision]
1. The New Royals

**A Half Moon Before Simba's Return to Priderock**

It had taken all night, but Zira had felt it would all be worth it when Scar saw her cubs, her Vitani and Kovu. Maybe he would finally make her his Queen, even. The thought elated her, but she knew better than to get her hopes up.

"Sarabi!" The beige lioness walked into the cave and smiled at the sight of the cubs suckling at Zira's side.

"I see the birthing went well, Zira." Sarabi smiled at the younger lioness in a motherly way.

"It did," Zira allowed a hint a smugness to creep into her tone, lifting her head so that she could look Sarabi in the eye. "Could you tell Scar that _his_ cubs have been born?" Sarabi's orange eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, and left the cave to tell Scar of the news. Zira waited patiently in the cave, briefly wondering if it had been the best idea to leave Nuke alone and making a mental note to ensure that Sarabi had taken care of him while she was gone. Eventually, Sarabi returned with Scar in tow, waking Zira up by tapping the outside of the den. Zira gently pushed her cubs away from her and stood, squeezing out of the small den and nearly running headfirst into Scar in her rush to greet him.

"My King!" Zira hastily bowed, changing Scar's scowling face into a wide smile.

"At least _one_ of my lionesses knows how to treat their King." He growled to Sarabi, who said nothing and kept her eyes downcast. Scar turned his attention to Zira, who had kept bowing and motioned for her to stand. "Have you finally provided me with an heir?" Zira frowned but quickly recovered.

"Yes, of course!" Scar eyed her suspiciously. "I would never want to disappoint you, my King!" She quickly pushed herself back into the den and swiftly picked up Kovu, silently praying that Scar would be pleased. Scar's eyes lit up when Zira set the cub down in front of him and he smiled as he looked the cub over, prodding and poking the brown cub with a satisfied smile.

"Yes...He will do nicely." Scar muttered as he looked over the cub, poking and prodding him with a claw. He raised his voice to talk to an elated Zira. "Well? Where's the other one? Sarabi said you had cub _s_." He emphasized the "s".

"Oh, well..." Zira turned away from Scar. "She's healthy, I suppose."

"I'll be the judge of that." He growled. "What are you waiting for? Bring her out!" Zira flinched and pushed herself into the den to get Vitani. She hesitated before picking her up and worriedly gave the mewling cub a lick before picking her up and gingerly setting her down in front of Scar.

Scar poked and prodded her and seemed to be...happy with her? "This cub is better than healthy! She will make a fine Huntress and will be a good back-up heir."

"What about Nuke?" Zira asked, hoping Scar's good mood would somehow rub off on his opinion of her first son.

"He was a disappointment." Scar scoffed, dating Zira's hopes. "It's getting late into the day." He turned to Sarabi. "What are you waiting for? Go find something for her to eat!" He snapped and turned away from the lionesses and now crying cubs. Sarabi glared after him, but left to track down her Pride-sisters. Zira sighed as the mewling cubs' cries became louder and louder. She slowly groomed them both, calming them down and taking them inside the den to feed them and get some rest.


	2. Simba's Return

**The Day of Simba's Return to Priderock**

Simba didn't know who the lioness was or why the others were glaring at her. All that mattered to him were her cubs, well the young male anyways. He scrambled down the side of Priderock and walked up to the lioness, while the rest of the Pride moved to surround her.

Simba cleared his throat and spoke "Who are you?" He had just finished fighting Scar and wasn't eager to start another fight, unsure if he was in any condition to do so.

"You-you killed Scar!" She sputtered. "What are you all surrounding me for!?" Her confusion became anger as she turned to face the other lionesses, still careful to keep her cubs under her. "He's the one that killed your King!"

"Scar was never our King!" Naanda, one of Simba's aunts, spat angrily.

"How dare you!" The tan lioness bared her teeth in a snarl, readying herself to fight.

"Enough!" Simba roared angrily, more than tired by the day's events. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I am Zira. I-" she started haughtily before suddenly pausing and leaning down to pull her cubs into her. "I was, anyways, the King's heir producer more or less." She gave a dry laugh. "I suppose you want to kill my cubs, then. At least let me keep Vitani. She'll be no trouble to you, I promise!" Simba gasped at her and she seemed to take this as him not even wanting to listen. "If you give me a-"

"I won't kill your cubs!" Zira stared at him as though he had said that he was a wildebeest.

"Really?" Zira looked at him, scrutinizing and searching every in of his face before suddenly breaking into a wide grin and throwing herself to the ground and bowing. "Thank you, Rogue."

"What!?" Naanda growled. "Simba, you surely aren't going to let her just stay here!?"

"She has cubs, _Naanda_." He growled back, the fur along his back raising as he bared his teeth. "Whether or not you like her has nothing to do with them."

Naanda backed away from Simba, but continued to quietly growl and mutter.

"However, if you really don't want her here that much, she'll have to stay in one of the other caves. Is that okay?" Zira nodded and bowed to Simba, then she leaned down to pick up one of her cubs as she shouldered her way through the ring of lionesses, keeping the other cubs under her as she walked.

"...It's late. Maybe it would be best if we all rested for now." Sarabi said diplomatically. She led the others up the side of Priderock, and the others followed without complaint. Once she reached the entrance to the cave, she stopped and nudged Simba forward with a paw. "My son, you have more than earned your place as King." Simba entered the cave hesitantly, finding the now unfamiliar rock cave somewhat...strange. He shook the feeling off and padded towards the raised platform he'd always slept on as a cub with his parents and circled once, twice before plopping himself down. The lionesses trailed in behind him, each finding her own spot. His aunts piled atop one another, Nala, Safina and Sarafina sprawled out side by side, quietly talking to each other, while Sarabi padded up to her son. Simba stood to allow his mother to find her own spot next to him on the platform, which she took gladly. He rested his head on her back, easily falling asleep under his mother's watchful eye.


	3. Kovu's First Day

**Half Weeks After Simba's Return**

"I can't believe that we can finally go outside!" Kovu bounced up and down excitedly, smiling at his sister as she left the cave. "Mother, wake up!" He climbed up his mother's head and pulled on her ear, hoping that she had remembered.

"Get off, Kovu!" Zira yanked her head up, throwing Kovu to the ground. He let out a yelp of surprise when hit the ground. "If you keep that up, you'll have to stay in the den!"

"Sorry, Mother." Zira's expression softened and she looked apologetic as she stood, but she said nothing to Kovu.

"Where's your sister?"

"Vitani is waiting with Nuke outside the cave." Zira quickly washed her face with a paw.

"Alright, I suppose we'll have to go now." Zira turned out of the cave and blinked as she made her way into the sunlight. Kovu scampered out of the cave after her. "Nuke, you've been out before, so I expect you to set an example for these two." Nuke was glowing with happiness at the fact that, for once, their mother was paying some degree of attention to him. "Now, Kovu, Vitani, you two are to stay within my sight range at all times, or you're never coming out of the den again, got it?" The two nodded and were rewarded with pats on the head. "Good. Now come along, it's time to go."

Zira padded into the shade of Priderock, and her cubs followed obediently, all of them having varying degrees of success at trying to copy the way she moved through the grasses silently. Kovu kept tripping over his own paws, not used to walking over such uneven ground, while Nuke padded behind the cubs silently, used to having to follow their mother this way, but he quickly tired, and his harried breathing was obvious. Vitani did the best, easily slipping into the calm controlled gait of her mother, keeping silent as she took in each and every thing around her.

"Mother, I'm tired." Kovu spoke up after a while, getting more than a little worried about the hard time Nuke was having behind him and his sister.

"Well, that's not my problem, now is it!" She snapped. Kovu flinched at her tone and she stopped walking. She whirled around walked back to where the cubs where.

"Uh, Mother, what are you-" The question died as Zira grabbed Kovu by the scruff and turned back around, continuing to walk as though she'd never stopped.

Nuke had barely caught his breath before he forced himself to continue after his mother. Vitani made sure he had caught his breath before she continued on her way.

"Nuke, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but we have to hurry before Mother sees!" Nuke hissed quietly, urging Vitani forward and giving a tentative glance to where their mother was.

"It's fine, you're more important than that, bro, let's go." Kovu had seen the exchange out of the corner of his eye, and felt jealous, of what he wasn't sure though. Zira soon reached the Waterhole and dropped Kovu rather unceremoniously, not even bothering to check him over before she started to lap up water. Nuke sped forward to drink from the lake, gulping as though he'd never drank water before and would never again. Vitani joined him, curious to see why he was so excited to drink. After a tentative lap, she still didn't understand why and sat down next to Zira, waiting for her to lay down. Instead of allowing her to feed, Zira stopped drinking and licked her muzzle before turning away from the water, calling to her children. Kovu followed her, thankful for the break, felt refreshed and kept up with his mother, while Vitani, although nowhere near as tired as Nuke had been, followed much slower than before.

"Mother, where are we going?" Kovu broke the silence.

"We're going to Five Stones today." Nuke gasped behind them. "Is there are problem with that, Nuke?" Zira asked smoothly.

"N-no! Of course not, Mother!" Zira visibly tensed at the word "mother".

"Good." Kovu suddenly realized that it was going to be a _very_ long day.

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 **Hello! Sorry about not leaving a note on the last chapter, but I was rushing to publish it. Anyways thank you all for over 200 views! :D**

 **CandyCane21, thank you for your reviews! And thanks to DoctorWho41 and Lionfan64 for following my story :)**

 **I hope none of you mind these little time-skips between the chapters. These will last for quite a few chapters for this story and the next will probably be the biggest, plot wise, anyways.**

 **This might turn out to be a huge mistake, but I'm already thinking about killing off a character (one of the four main ones), and I was wondering which one I should kill off, or if I shouldn't kill off anyone (important).**

 **And last but certainly not least, I'm going to try to get a chapter of this out within ten days of the last chapter, so the schedule for this is rather loose.**


	4. An Old Friend's Dilemna

**One Moon After Simba's Return**

A peachy tan lioness ran through a thick sea of grass, two cubs clutched tightly in her mouth and her belly swollen with more. She hoped that she would be able to outrun her pursuers, however impossible that probably was. Three large shadowy figures trailed behind her, far enough that they couldn't see her, but not far enough that she felt safe. She reached a river and hesitated, after all she'd never been the best swimmer, and who was to say that her pursuers couldn't swim themselves? She shook her head, steadying herself to leap into the water. As she hit the water she shivered at the sudden feeling of the cold enveloping her, but she quickly recovered and forced herself to start swimming, making it to the bank after what felt like years. She put the small cubs down and licked them fiercely, warming them up the best she could. The rustling across the river startled her, and she scurried to hide the cubs behind her before she launched herself in the grass, tensing her muscles in preparation to run if they noticed her.

The rustling got louder and louder as a lion stepped out of the grass, two younger lions flanking him. "Where is she!?" He roared, and the lioness covered both the cubs mouths before they alerted the lions of where they were. The lion turned to the young lions behind him. "Hoda, you're going to cross the river and find the lioness!" The light brown lion nodded and the elder lion turned to the other lion. "Ari, if Hoda doesn't find her on that side, you'd better find her on this one! I've got to go make sure that the others stayed put." He growled and snuck right back into the grasses. Ari sighed after he left and started to head north, flowing the river to try and find the hidden lioness while Hoda walked into river, undeterred by the cold as he started to swim. The lioness sucked in a sharp breath as he swam and she grabbed the cubs, hiding them further in the grasses, before swiftly returning to the riverbank, just in time to see Hoda step onto the bank and shake himself off, and then head her way, following the muddy prints that led to her.

"You'd better come out, Tama." Hoda said quietly as he sat down in front of her. "It'll be much better for you and your cubs if you do now. I'll tell Father that they're mine and he'll let them live..." He paused. "Assuming that they're male of course."

"Like I'd ever trust you again, especially after how you hurt my family and I!" Tama hissed, and unsheathed her claws. "I trusted you once! Look where that got me!"

"Listen, if you come out now, I might be able to convince Father to let them live."

"I highly doubt that!" She spat angrily.

"Tama, you know that we'll find you eventually, even if you do escape, right?" Hoda's grin turned into a scowl.

"I'm willing to take my chances!" Hoda started to stand.

"You're going to regret this, Tama." He spoke quietly, now towering over where she hid.

"Heh, well at least I'll die knowing I tried!" As she finished, she leapt, surprising Hoda. With a snarl, she pushed him, keeping three paws on his legs, using the fourth to keep his head in the river. Hoda roared and flailed his leg, clawing Tama's face, but she kept her hold on him until he stopped flailing, and the bubbles became fewer and fewer. She cautiously let go and sighed, before leaning down to nuzzle his cheek. "Sorry, Hoda. I'm going to leave." She turned to leave and collect the cubs. _Who knows? Maybe we'll meet in another life?_ She thought to herself idly as she bounded away from Hoda, making sure to leaving a winding trail and doing her best to ignore the angry roars behind her. She kept going until the sun began to rise, and when it did, she quickly scaled a nearby tree, placing the cubs on the highest branches she could, ensuring that they were hidden from view before she perched herself on one of the thicker branches, doing her best to rest, knowing she'd need to be awake to travel to the Pride Lands fast enough.

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 **Thank you all for over 400 views! I wasn't expecting so many of you to care. I'm sorry about how close I'm cutting this update, so I'll try to get something up by Saturday.**

 **Thank you to CandyCane21 for your new review and Jem Boy, too. Thanks to Balto2wolfquest for following and favoring this.**

 **So how dow you all like Tama? I rather like her design and imagine her to be rather feisty, like Naanda. She (or at least the cubs she's carrying, both in her and not) will be very important plot wise. This chapter wasn't really done, so I cut out the time-skip.**


	5. History is Starting to Repeat

**Three Seasons After Simba's Return**

Sarabi smiled, watching as the cubs took turns tusseling, each trying their hardest to pin the other down. Her granddaughter, Kiara, had been defeated first, and was off to the side pouting, having refused any efforts to comfort her made by her friends, Tiifu and Zuri, and they'd gone back to their competition. Uru, her white pelt covered in dust, faced off against Kiongozi, who had remained mostly clean as a result of not being pinned down. The two were currently fighting over who would be the new champion, a title Kiongozi had held for more than a moon now, and the other cubs were obviously annoyed about it, but none could beat him, so they had all accepted it, except for Uru. With a battle-cry, she threw herself at Kiongozi, who easily sidestepped and whirled around, pinning her down easily.

"Come on, Uru, just give up already!" Kiongozi's words were pleading, but his tone was not. "I'm sure the others are bored, right?"

He turned to look at them and Uru kicked some dust into his eyes, making him howl in pain and fury and let go. She leapt away, before turning around and facing him, confident she was far away enough that he couldn't easily get to her.

"Bet you can't-" Unfortunately, she was wrong and within a few quick bounds he was on top of her, snarling angrily and Sarabi was reminded of just how big Kiongozi was for his age, easily overshadowing Uru. Uru whimpered weakly and tried to pull away, and Sarabi realized that her grandson's claws were unsheathed as long thin red lines appeared on Uru's side, shining through her fur. Sarabi leapt up, ignoring the pain that laced thourgh her back and bounded over to the cubs, pulling her grandson away from Uru with more than a little difficulty, something she hoped was just a sign of her old age. Kiongozi whipped around, teeth bared and his claws still unsheathed, looking for all the world that he was going to attack his grandmother. Sarabi released him and stood over Uru instincively, baring her teeth in a snarl of her own, feeling as though she was just facing off some rouge instead of Kiongozi when a voice called out.

"Kion, stop!" Kiara rushed up between the two, her voice comanding.

"And why should I listen to you!?" Kiongozi roared.

"Because I am the Heir and you are not!" When Kiara normally said this, it was to taunt her brother and was always used in some childish fight, so Sarabi stared at her granddaughter, surprise written across her face at how commanding her voice sounded while Kiongozi's snarl grew louder. "And as the heir, I demand that you stop!" Kiara's words seemed to wake up the others, and Tiifu and Zuri hurried to their friend's side, blocking Kiongozi.

"You'd better listen to the Princess, Kion." Tiifu was quiet, but the demanding tone of her voice was unmistakable.

"And who's going to make me, you?" Kiongozi scoffed and rolled his eyes, but seemed to have calmed. He stared at the lionesses, and seeing none of them move or say anything, he said, "Fine, I guess I'll go! Come on, Hodari." He turned and started to pad off, obviously expecting his friend to follow him.

"No, Kion." Kiongozi stopped but didn't turn around.

"Why not?" Kiongozi's voice was quiet.

"Because I'd rather stay with my sister."

"Do want you want." Kiongozi started to walk away again, this time picking up speed as he went, soon disappearing from the others' sight range.

With a sigh, Sarabi turned her attention to Uru, who was staring after Kiongozi in shock. "Uru, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Uru's blank nod disheartened Sarabi, but she shook it off and nudged the smaller lioness up.

"Are you sure?" Kiara's confident stance had disappeared, replaced with one full of concern for her friend.

"If you want, we can go get Rafiki..." Zuri piped up, earning a nod of agreement from Tiifu.

"No, I...I'm fine, honest." Uru stood and walk in a circle to show that she was okay, but no one missed the way she winced as she stood.

"Whatever you say, dear." Sarabi spoke before anyone else could offer their help, seeing the annoyed look Uru had. "Come, cubs, we should get back to Priderock to meet with the Huntresses." Uru gave her a grateful smile and did her best to keep up, while the others walked ahead, sullenly with their heads lowered, none talking as they usually would, seemingly all too far away from themselves.

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 **Here's your promised Saturday chapter! Thank you all for over 500 views! I hope you all aren't too annoyed about how far I skipped, but I knew that their cubhoods wouldn't be very interesting, but I didn't want to skip to adulthood, so I'll have a few adolescent chapters.**


	6. A New Friend

**Three Seasons After Simba's Return**

Kiongozi had run all the way to the lake behind Priderock and had plopped down in the shade, exhausted and muttering angrily to himself when he heard grass rustle behind him. His head shot up and he scanned the grasses twice before he noticed the bright blues eyes trained on him.

"Oh, it's just you, Zuri." Kiongozi's head went right back down and he waited for Zuri to leave the grasses, and when she didn't he sighed and sat up, facing her. "Come on, Zuri. I know you're there. Just come out." This time Zuri did leave the grasses, and as she did, Kiongozi realized it wasn't her. Instead, a golden tan lioness, nearly as big as him, with a tuft of fur hanging over her eyes was padding towards him.

"Who are you?" Kiongozi's claws unsheathed and he started to stand. To his surprise, the lioness, even though she had stopped walking, seemed undeterred and rolled her eyes.

"Name's Vitani, kid." She sat down, just a few paces away from him. "I've lived behind Priderock for" she stopped and closed her eyes, mulling over something for a while before she reopened them. "Lived there for over a year now, I think. There's no way you've never seen me."

Kiongozi stared at her for a moment before he sat, still tense in case she decided to attack. "I think I might have, a few times anyways."

"Relax, kid. Even if you _could_ beat me in a fight, I'd never attack the _Prince_." Kiongozi sprang up and growled, his golden neck fur standing on edge.

"What do you mean _'even if I could beat you_ '!? You're smaller than me!" He stalked over to Vitani, growling. As if to annoy him more, she just rolled her eyes and stood, staring him straight in the eye.

"I meant exactly what I said, kid." As soon as the words passed her lips, Kiongozi crashed into her, slamming her to the ground. For a moment, she lay there, dazed, before her hind legs kicked the golden lion's stomach and he stumbled back. She rolled to her paws and sprang forward, throwing Kiongozi onto his back with a force that surprised him and landing on top of him with a triumphant grin on her face. "I bet you thought I was bluffing, didn't you, kid?"

Kiongozi gaped at her, surprised. Not one of the other cubs could beat him in a fight, and here was a lioness that beat him faster then he normally beat the others. "How did you...Where did you learn to fight like that?" Vitani's grin grew wider and she looked to be on the verge of laughing.

"From my mother, Zira." She leapt away from him and flicked her tail absentmindedly. "I don't know why you're so impressed by that! That's just some of the basic moves Mother's taught my brothers and I."

Kiongozi rolled onto his back and stared at the ground for a while before he looked at Vitani again. "Do you think she'd be willing to teach me..." Kiongozi's voice trailed off at the sound of Vitani's laughter.

"I doubt it, kid." She laughed before suddenly becoming solemn and turning away from Kiongozi. "She doesn't exactly... _appreciate_ your father's...exploits."

"Oh." Was all Kiongozi could say. "Well, then could you teach me?"

"Why should I?" Kiongozi balked.

"Because..." An idea popped into his head. "I'm still the Prince, aren't I?"

Vitani searched his face and shrugged. "I guess that's as good a point as any, kid."

"Stop calling me 'kid'! My name's Kiongozi."

"I'll call you whatever I want, kid." With a growl, Kiongozi lunged for Vitani, only for her to smile, sidestep him and then leap onto his back, pinning him with her weight and digging into his shoulders with her claws. "The first thing we're going to have to work on is that temper of yours." Kiongozi groaned.

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 **Sorry about missing the deadline! I hope you all like this chapter!**


	7. It's Only A Little Rain, Right?

**One Year And A Week After Simba's Return**

Kovu watched as his sister started towards the pond she'd been spending her time at for the past few days, idly wondering where she was going before his mother's voice suddenly called out to him.

"Kovu!" Kovu spun around to face his mother, who was just out of sight from the cave's entrance. "Where's Vitani going?"

"I don't know, Mother, she hasn't told me." Zira eyed her son but said nothing.

"Go find out then." Kovu turned out of the cave. "Make sure that she doesn't see you and report back to me when you return." Zira motioned for Kovu to leave before she turned to her older son. "Tail him." Nuke nodded and left the cave.

Kovu easily found Vitani's trail, following it to where his sister was, and settling down in the grasses a bit away from where the trail ended. He peaked through and nearly gasped at what he saw, barely remembering to stop himself in time. Where the grass thinned, his sister was fighting with the _Prince_! Mother would kill _her_! The Prince had pinned her and while Kovu debated whether or not he should intervene, Vitani flipped the Prince over, pushing him onto his back and smirking.

"Looks like you still haven't learned the basics, kid." Kovu was shocked by the friendly tone Vitani used, knowing that their mother would flay _him_ for even _thinking_ like that and he didn't want to know what she'd do to Vitani. Vitani stepped off the Prince slowly, flicking him with her tail. To his surprise, the Prince showed no intent to attack her, instead staying on his back and watching Vitani idly.

"Well, that's not my fault, is it? You're my teacher, so you should-" The Prince cut off suddenly and Kovu wondered why, before realizing that he'd gasped sharply. He looked over to Vitani, who seemed to have seen him, and was staring at him intently, but he stayed put, hoping that his bright green eyes had blended in with the grass around him. He was so relieved when she turned to back towards the Prince and leaned down to say something in his ear, that he didn't think anything of it as the Prince rolled onto his feet and quickly glanced at where he was, even when his tail started to whip back and forth in obvious anger.

"Kion, we'll finish up today's lesson in a few days, alright?" Vitani _had_ seen Kovu, but kept her eyes off him, in an effort to make it seem like she hadn't noticed him. Kion nodded and left Vitani standing in the clearing. Kovu watched the two, wondering why the Prince had suddenly left. "You can come out know, Kovu. I know it's you." Kovu stayed still, hoping that somehow that would make her forget he was there. Unfortunately for him, she knew he was there and planned to stake him out. She sat down, staring him intently. After a while of their "staring contest", Kovu gave in and stepped out of the grasses. As he did, Vitani launched to her feet and threw herself out him, slamming him onto the ground with a growl, completely loosing her façade of calmness.

"Vitani!?" Kovu yelped as he hit the ground. Vitani's paw slammed down on his throat and before she could yell at him, Nuke calmly strode out of the grasses.

"Nice to see you two training." He laughed at his own joke as though it was the funniest thing in the world. "Mother will be very happy to learn of what you two have been doing." He eyed Vitani meaningfully and she growled at him. "Don't about what I'll tell her...worry about what Kovu will." He turned and started to pad back towards Priderock, leaving Kovu with a _very_ upset Vitani.

"Now, Vitani, I'm sure we can-" He managed nervously before Vitani once again slammed her paw down on his throat. He prayed that someone, anyone would help him, and his prayers were answered, in the form of Nuke returning.

"Oh, and you two better head back to Priderock." The two younger lions stared at him curiously. "Mother wants you back before it starts to rain." Vitani let Kovu up and followed Nuke towards Priderock, and Kovu lingered behind them, wondering why their mother was so concerned. After all, it was only a little rain, right?

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 **Here's the apology chapter for me being so late last update. Thanks to those that reviewed and followed. :3 Its very lucky (for me) that I updated right on time and didn't miss the deadline again, because then I'd have _way_ more work to catch up on. You'll all learn why exactly Zira wants them back at Priderock next chapter.**


	8. A Roaring Call

**Two Seasons and A Quarter Moon After Simba's Return**

As Kiara waited for her father at the base of Priderock, she tried to guess what her father had wanted to talk to her about when her brother showed up behind her. He was scowling and his scowl grew deeper at the sight of her, but she tried to ignore it, greeting him cheerfully.

"Hey, little brother. Where've you been?"

"You don't need to know, Kiara." He spat her name and Kiara flinched at the venom in his voice. Instead of leaving like Kiara hoped he would, he started pacing angrily, growling softly, waiting for something, Kiara wondered why and ventured another question.

"Uh, what are you waiting for, Kion?" Kiongozi stopped pacing and hissed at Kiara in annoyance. She stepped back, wondering why her brother was so much more aggressive than usual, biting her tongue to keep herself from saying anything to him. After a while, their father finally showed up, smiling at the two invitingly.

"Daddy, you're here!" Kiara ran up to Simba, rubbing against his neck in greeting. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"It's a good thing that you two were already waiting together. I wanted to talk to you both." Simba gestured for them both to follow him as he made his way towards the Waterhole. "Your Grandmother's told me that you two have been having issues getting along and I wanted to ask you two:why? I hope that this isn't about Kiara being the future Queen." Upon hearing that, Kiongozi scoffed and turned away from Simba, turning towards Priderock.

"Kion! Wait! Come back!" Kiara started after her brother, only to be stopped by her father's golden furred paw. She looked at her father, mouth already open and ready to argue but her father shook his head.

"Leave your brother alone, Kiara. Maybe he'll calm down. Even if he doesn't, we can always talk to him tomorrow." Kiara hung her head, and seeing this, her father lifted her head with a paw, smiling at her. "What if we go for a walk? Maybe we can go and see if we can scare the Rhinos, eh?" Kiara grinned at the thought of playing with her father, something she hadn't done in a while.

"That'd be great-" A she said this, a roar sounded from somewhere near the Prideland's border. Simba's head shot up and he started growling at the thought of an intruder in his lands. He stood, tall and proud, roaring back, towards the general direction of the roar. After a short while, the roar sounded back, sounding closer, if the volume was anything to go by, however, it relaxed Simba, as he realized that the roar was feminine, not that of a challenger.

"Kiara, go to Priderock and send your mother here if she's still there." Kiara glanced at her father worriedly, and he quickly reassured her as he started towards where the roar had been heard. "Don't worry, Kiara. I'll be fine."

Kiara started towards Priderock, jogging slowly while trying to tell herself that her father would be fine. Just as Kiara was within eyesight of Priderock, it began to rain, and it steadily pounded harder, so that by the time she'd actually stepped onto the steep, rocky stairs on the side of Priderock, she was drenched and had to carefully focus on where she put her paws, despite knowing how to get up with her eyes closed. Stepping into the Pride's shared cave, she shook herself off, and was rewarded with a scared yelp from Uru. Frowning, Kiara stepped towards her formerly confident friend, putting a gentle paw on her shoulder.

"Uru, you okay?" Uru relaxed as she realized that it was Kiara who'd entered the cave.

"I'm fine, Kiara. Anyways," she quickly changed the subject. "Why'd you come back to Priderock? I thought you and King Simba would stay out all day."

"My father sent me back for my mother." At this she looked around the cave, and seeing no one but her sleeping grandmother, she asked, "Have you seen her?"

To Kiara's dismay, Uru shook her head. "You just missed her." As if to punctuate how unlucky this was, a loud roar was heard, and this one's meaning would be completely different from the last.

* * *

 **Sorry about the complete lack of updates, I've been busy, but I'll try to get something up by the end of the week.**


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